now on the other hand, when i was an acolyte in the EO church, occasinally a toddler would wander back into the altar and we had little white tunics and little processional crosses for them so they could 'serve' they would even get blessed to robe etc, some as young as 2 or 3. same "cuteness" factor.

now on the other hand, when i was an acolyte in the EO church, occasinally a toddler would wander back into the altar and we had little white tunics and little processional crosses for them so they could 'serve' they would even get blessed to robe etc, some as young as 2 or 3. same "cuteness" factor.

now on the other hand, when i was an acolyte in the EO church, occasinally a toddler would wander back into the altar and we had little white tunics and little processional crosses for them so they could 'serve' they would even get blessed to robe etc, some as young as 2 or 3. same "cuteness" factor.

That is a wonderful idea. Wish more parishes did that!!

We have those same lil' white server's robes. However, our littlest ones are usually doorkeepers for the iconostas, and don't process. Although they still come out to receive the Eucharist and venerate icons at the end of the service with the clergy/adult servers, so I guess the cute factor is still there.

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"Hades is not a place, no, but a state of the soul. It begins here on earth. Just so, paradise begins in the soul of a man here in the earthly life. Here we already have contact with the divine..." -St. John, Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, Homily On the Sunday of Orthodoxy

now on the other hand, when i was an acolyte in the EO church, occasinally a toddler would wander back into the altar and we had little white tunics and little processional crosses for them so they could 'serve' they would even get blessed to robe etc, some as young as 2 or 3. same "cuteness" factor.

That is a wonderful idea. Wish more parishes did that!!

why? how is that different from this child be used as a little performer?

now on the other hand, when i was an acolyte in the EO church, occasinally a toddler would wander back into the altar and we had little white tunics and little processional crosses for them so they could 'serve' they would even get blessed to robe etc, some as young as 2 or 3. same "cuteness" factor.

That is a wonderful idea. Wish more parishes did that!!

why? how is that different from this child be used as a little performer?

Because they aren't being made spectacles. It's cute for adults, and the kids get to serve with the grown-ups. Especially if it's something the kid really wants to do and takes seriously, it could be a big, healthy encouragement to their piety.

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"Hades is not a place, no, but a state of the soul. It begins here on earth. Just so, paradise begins in the soul of a man here in the earthly life. Here we already have contact with the divine..." -St. John, Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, Homily On the Sunday of Orthodoxy

now on the other hand, when i was an acolyte in the EO church, occasinally a toddler would wander back into the altar and we had little white tunics and little processional crosses for them so they could 'serve' they would even get blessed to robe etc, some as young as 2 or 3. same "cuteness" factor.

That is a wonderful idea. Wish more parishes did that!!

why? how is that different from this child be used as a little performer?

Because they aren't being made spectacles. It's cute for adults, and the kids get to serve with the grown-ups. Especially if it's something the kid really wants to do and takes seriously, it could be a big, healthy encouragement to their piety.

yes they were being put on display, and how seriously can a 3 yr old take anything? it's the same old 'it's so tacky when protestants do it, so nice when rc's/eo's do it" schtick.

The whole thing is ridiculous. No toddler should be used in that way no matter what their denomination. Also,

1. Simple exploitation, plaing and simple.2. Although I am no longer Protestant (heh, new status) this really belittles the entire notion of a minister and his funcion.3. Im actually not surprised that they're Penocostal, they're weird.....

PP

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"I confidently affirm that whoever calls himself Universal Bishop is the precursor of Antichrist"Gregory the Great

"Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must also be eastern." St. John Maximovitch, The Wonderworker

I saw this on the Today show yesterday on NBC. I couldn't understand a word the kid said. What was strange was that his parents came across like 'normal' people when interviewed. The whole thing seemed odd to me.

now on the other hand, when i was an acolyte in the EO church, occasinally a toddler would wander back into the altar and we had little white tunics and little processional crosses for them so they could 'serve' they would even get blessed to robe etc, some as young as 2 or 3. same "cuteness" factor.

That is a wonderful idea. Wish more parishes did that!!

why? how is that different from this child be used as a little performer?

Because they aren't being made spectacles. It's cute for adults, and the kids get to serve with the grown-ups. Especially if it's something the kid really wants to do and takes seriously, it could be a big, healthy encouragement to their piety.

Liturgy should not be cute.

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Quote from: GabrieltheCelt

If you spend long enough on this forum, you'll come away with all sorts of weird, untrue ideas of Orthodox Christianity.

Quote from: orthonorm

I would suggest most persons in general avoid any question beginning with why.

now on the other hand, when i was an acolyte in the EO church, occasinally a toddler would wander back into the altar and we had little white tunics and little processional crosses for them so they could 'serve' they would even get blessed to robe etc, some as young as 2 or 3. same "cuteness" factor.

That is a wonderful idea. Wish more parishes did that!!

why? how is that different from this child be used as a little performer?

Because they aren't being made spectacles. It's cute for adults, and the kids get to serve with the grown-ups. Especially if it's something the kid really wants to do and takes seriously, it could be a big, healthy encouragement to their piety.

yes they were being put on display, and how seriously can a 3 yr old take anything? it's the same old 'it's so tacky when protestants do it, so nice when rc's/eo's do it" schtick.

Ok, really? Being an altar server is different from giving sermons. I see nothing exploitative with letting small children serve at the altar if they are capable of following along. They're not the center of the show.

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Be comforted, and have faith, O Israel, for your God is infinitely simple and one, composed of no parts.

I hope this boy is able to maitain his faith as he grows into adulthood... We don't need another bitter atheist.

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"For, by its immensity, the divine substance surpasses every form that our intellect reaches. Thus we are unable to apprehend it by knowing what it is. Yet we are able to have some knowledge of it by knowing what it is not." - St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra gentiles, I, 14.

I hope this boy is able to maitain his faith as he grows into adulthood... We don't need another bitter atheist.

I wouldn't worry about him becoming an atheist, I'm sure he's well on his way on being brainwashed.

That's the problem. When people see religion as nothing more than brainwashing, then they are more likely to jump ship.

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"For, by its immensity, the divine substance surpasses every form that our intellect reaches. Thus we are unable to apprehend it by knowing what it is. Yet we are able to have some knowledge of it by knowing what it is not." - St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra gentiles, I, 14.

I hope this boy is able to maitain his faith as he grows into adulthood... We don't need another bitter atheist.

I wouldn't worry about him becoming an atheist, I'm sure he's well on his way on being brainwashed.

That's the problem. When people see religion as nothing more than brainwashing, then they are more likely to jump ship.

And those people can embrace a logical fallacy as well.

Agreed.

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"For, by its immensity, the divine substance surpasses every form that our intellect reaches. Thus we are unable to apprehend it by knowing what it is. Yet we are able to have some knowledge of it by knowing what it is not." - St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra gentiles, I, 14.

I too had a tough time understanding him in the first few sentences. If they only let him get up one or two times a year, I might not worry. They seem to be making this a regular thing, though, and it could be too much stress for someone that young. I think they should wait until he's older.

yes they were being put on display, and how seriously can a 3 yr old take anything? it's the same old 'it's so tacky when protestants do it, so nice when rc's/eo's do it" schtick.

I have to agree with Tallitot on this one.

We don't have adult altar servers at my church, it's all done by children and teenagers. The older ones teach the younger ones, and while there may be a "cuteness" factor in the age of a couple of them, it's not spectacle but the passing on of knowledge in serving and the opportunity to serve. Also, the younger ones aren't just up there to look cute, they know what to do, and when, where, and how to do it.

Also, they don't give the sermon or do anything that is typically done by the priest.